Blog Posts for Kathi Kamen Goldmark

This Land is Your Land (and this library is your library)

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:24:51 -0700

Today at lunch time, I'll proudly be joining a group of fellow authors on the steps of the San Francisco Public Library, to participate in Ban(ne)d Books Day. The idea is to read or sing work that has been censored, thereby raising awareness about the importance of the First Amendment, and (while we're at it) libraries in general.Sam and I were trying to figure out a cool and original way to ...

War Heroes and other Medical Relationships

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:40:24 -0700

When I was growing up in a suburb of New York, we had a family doctor, an avuncular type whose office smelled like Listerine and potatoes. Dr. Kreske played fast and loose with the lollipops (especially after booster shots) and even came to our house if we were laid low. Once, when I had the mumps, he made fun of the rock & roll posters in my bedroom, asking if Ricky Nelson and Fabian were ...

Don't You Cry for Me

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:31:22 -0700

Perhaps you’ve heard...my newly-minted, minty-fresh husband Sam Barry has just published a book: HOW TO PLAY THE HARMONICA: AND OTHER LIFE LESSONS. Using the various qualities needed to be a good harmonica player (listening, taking turns, improvisation) and a willingness to try new things (letting go, having fun, allowing for mistakes, jumping in the deep end) as guidelines for loosening ...

True Confessions: ice cream vs. health care

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:36:49 -0700

I guess I was missing the honeymoon planet more than I thought. Expressing a visceral, howling-from-the-depths-but-momentary raw need on Facebook, I typed “wants an ice cream cone” in the little window where you say what you are up to that minute. Perhaps I was thinking of the cinnamon and licorice Berthillon cones we had on Ile St Louis in Paris—or the creamy caramel gelato in Garda. ...

True Confessions: Breakfast of Champions

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:14:36 -0700

Reentry from our trip to Wedding and Honeymoon Planet hasn’t been the easiest, but here we are lurching back into our routines. For me, that means returning to the gym and my sessions with Jonathan, AKA the Torture Teddy, AKA my trainer. I realized recently that my main goal for working out is to eventually become strong enough to beat Jonathan up. A few days ago, after leaving an especially ...

Kathi's Great Ideas: Little Bottle with a Big Label—would it be SO hard?

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:27:30 -0700

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a baby-boomer ...and so I have a solipsistic view of the world. There has been a lot of thoughtful expounding (and even more tedious whining) about our generation and we don’t need to go into all of that here. I will go out on a limb and say that I think our collective sense of entitlement comes from the sheer fact of our numbers. There have always been more of us, ...

Kathi's Great Ideas: the Society of the Secretly Shy

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:48:44 -0700

Recently, I was befriended on facebook by an old friend from high school named Neil Kingsley. Actually, it’s a stretch to call Neil an “old friend”...because in fact I don’t remember us ever having a conversation (unless you consider “hey, how’s it going,” muttered while passing someone in the hall with your head down, a conversation). It was a small school and everyone knew ...

"That Friend Who I Don't Like So Much"

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:07:54 -0700

Yesterday I had an overdue visit with my mom, Betty, who lives in Novato. In the course of relating an anecdote about a recent medical adventure, she described someone as “you know...that friend of mine who I don’t like so much...” and went on to tell her story. Later, thinking about my mother’s matter-of-fact statement, I discovered that it raises some questions, “uh, then why do I ...

The Rugged Life of an International Cheese Smuggler

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:56:48 -0700

Just before Sam and I left on our honeymoon, I asked my son Tony and daughter-in-law Marissa if there was anything special they’d like me to bring back from France or Italy. “I don’t know,” Marissa shrugged, leaving her options open, knowing I’d never come home empty-handed (Marissa likes a lot of stuff; she is a delight to shop for). “Cheese,” said Tony. “I want a French ...

The Wedding Dress Wars: No, wait! The Wedding!

Kathi Kamen Goldmark — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:00:15 -0700

We walked in to our nieces and nephews singing “Chapel of Love,” and I couldn’t not sing along. We had our families gathered around us, my amazing son and daughter-in-law, and Sam’s amazing daughter Laura and prodigal son Daniel (we thought he was in Turkey!) We declared ourselves to each other with friends and family bearing witness, a moment so vivid that my friend Kathleen Enright ...